WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Three happy astronauts make their way to the waiting Astrovan that will take the STS-92 crew to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery. From left, they are Mission Specialists Michael Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata, and Commander Brian Duffy. During the 11-day mission to the International Space Station, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or spacewalks, are planned for construction. The payload includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. The Z-1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. PMA-3 will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Launch is scheduled for 7:17 p.m. EDT.